Silo.



PATBNTEB 00T. 20, 1905.

W. L. HAAG.,

SILO.

APPLIUATION FILED rmx. 0. 1004.

WLG/massed Annnsw. u. annum oo., Pummumocmvnins. wAnnulcmu. n c,

IINITFD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SILO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1905.

Application filed February 8, 1904. Serial No. 192,688.

Beit known that I, IVILLIAM L. HAAG, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Lansing, in the county of Ingham and State of Michigan, haveinventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Silos, of which thefollowing' is a specification, reference being' had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in silos; and itconsists in the peculiar construction of the tank, having a continuousdoorway at one side thereof and in the construction of the braces forthe doorway so arranged that when combined with the door and placed uponthe inside of the tank or silo it may form a ladder' by which any persondesiring to ascend to the top of the silo may climb.

The invention further consists in the peculiar construction,arrangement, and combination of the various parts, all as more fullyhereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure l is is aside elevation of a portion of thesilo, illustrating my invention as applied thereto. Fig. 2 is across-section thereof on line a' rc of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a plan View ofthe parts detached.

In the present state of the art in the manufacture of silos it iscustomary to build a circular tank, the staves of which are heldtogether by hoops, and provide an opening at one side thereof closed bydoors, which may be removed when the contents are desired to be takenout. In the ordinary construction of tank it has been found desirablealso to put posts upon each side of the doorway for reinforcements,these posts projecting out beyond the surface of the side of the tankand the door, fitting' in flush with the side walls of the tank, and ifcross-bars were placed between the reinforcements they might be used fora ladder to ascend the tank. With my invention the tank is made ofstaves of uniform width, and no reinforcement is applied at the sides ofthe door; but the door instead of being placed flush with the staves ofthe tank is placed inside of the same, so that the hoops or bars whichextend along the outer face of the tank will be spaced from the doorsufficiently so that they may still be employed as a ladder.

A represents the staves of a circular tank which is designed to be usedas a silo.

B represents the hoops, which I prefer to make continuous in the usualway of applying hoops to continuous circular tanks.

At one point in the circumference of the tank I leave out two or morestaves to'form a doorway, (indidated at C.) To prevent the stavesat thispoint from loosening, and thus collapsing the entire structure, I placebraces between the staves D at each side of the dooropening, and thesebraces I preferably make of a strip of band-iron E, secured at its endsto the side staves D-as, for instance, lby bolts F-and having lugs G ateither side secured, as by rivets H, to the brace-strip and projectingacross the face of the side staves D, as plainly shown in Fig. 2.

I prefer to place the hoops B centrally of the brace-strap E, as shownin Fig. l, and by having the rivets H in the upper and lower surface thehoops may be placed between these two series and also between the boltsF, which are arranged above and below the hoops, so as to prevent anypossibility of the dislodgment of the hoop at this point.

I is a door, which I have shown as an ordinary wooden door, made ofboards secured together by the cleats J. This door preferably hasehamfered end portions K, at which point I preferably place packing L onthe chamfered faces, so as to be sure to make a tight joint between thedoor and the inner face of the tank. In this form of my invention thedoor abuts against the inner face of the staves, leaving the bars E andthe hoop spaced from the door the thickness of ,the staves D, thusgiving ample room for the hands and feet of the person who desires toclimb up the silo, using the bars or hoops as the rounds of a ladder. Imay keep the door in position in any suitable manner. I have shownturn-buttons or levers M upon the sides of the cleats J, adapted toengage the outer wall of the tank for securing it in position, and Ihave also shown the hooks O on the outer face of each door adapted torest upon the upper edges of the braces. As is customary in thesedevices, one door may rest upon the next lower one, so that the lugs Oare not essential, and the doors may be placed in position from thebottom upward, and of course the lower door would rest upon thefoundation. I may, and preferably do, form a tongue-and-grooveconnection between the meeting ends of the doors, asis usual in this IOCIIO

one side, the side posts of which are the adjacent staves, a pluralityof straight braces extending across the door-opening and having theirends curved to conform to the curvature of the body and bolted thereto,angular lugs secured to the inner faces of said braces and engaging theedges of the staves adjacent the door-opening, hoops having portionsextending across the braces and lying thereon, a plurality ofdoor-sections of a width greater than the width of the door-opening andhaving chamfered end portions adapted to lie directly against the innerfaces of the staves adjacent the door-opening, hooks secured to each ofsaid door-sections and adapted to overlie the brace adjacent thereto,and means for clamping the door-sections in the dooropening.

2. In a silo the combination of a body part formed of staves having anopening therein extending substantially the length thereof, of straightbrace-strips spanning the opening and having their ends curved toconform to the curvature of the body, bolts passing through the curvedportions for securing the braces in place, hoops surrounding the bodyand passing over the braces and between the boltwheads` angular lugssecured to the inner faces of the braces and engaging the sides of thewalls of the door-opening, and door-sections having inclinedbearing-surfaces at opposite ends bearing directly against the innersurfaces of the staves adjacent the dooropening.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM L. HAAG.

I/Vitnesses:

' J. EDWARD REED,

C. J. DAVIS.

